Overview

A big score goes wrong in a big way for a bunch of aspiring gangsters in this crime comedy. Matty Demaret Barry Pepper is the son of a mid-level Brooklyn mob boss, Benny "Chains" Demaret Dennis Hopper. When Matty was 12 years old, Benny and Uncle Teddy John Malkovich decided to see if Matty had what it took to be in the mob; they gave the boy a gun and ordered him to shoot a longtime enemy of the family. Matty lacked the nerve to do it, and ever since, Benny has been convinced his son is a coward. As an adult, ...

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Overview

A big score goes wrong in a big way for a bunch of aspiring gangsters in this crime comedy. Matty Demaret Barry Pepper is the son of a mid-level Brooklyn mob boss, Benny "Chains" Demaret Dennis Hopper. When Matty was 12 years old, Benny and Uncle Teddy John Malkovich decided to see if Matty had what it took to be in the mob; they gave the boy a gun and ordered him to shoot a longtime enemy of the family. Matty lacked the nerve to do it, and ever since, Benny has been convinced his son is a coward. As an adult, Matty is stuck between a rock and a hard place; he'd like to work as a sports agent, but his family's criminal ties make that all but impossible, and his dad won't give him a chance in the family's operations. Uncle Teddy decides to give Matty a chance to make good by asking him to pick up a payment of $500,000 in Spokane, WA. Matty puts together a crew of three friends, all sons of mob guys, to help him out: muscle bound Taylor Vin Diesel, ladies' man Chris Andrew Davoli, and cocaine-addled would-be pilot Johnny Seth Green. Getting the money goes just fine, but during a refueling stop in Montana, Johnny has to hide the money to keep it from being discovered. It's then promptly stolen by a pair of burnouts. When Matty and his crew discover the money is missing, they head back to Montana, but before long, they find out that the sheriff Tom Noonan is onto them, and that he has his own plans for the cash; they also learn that Uncle Teddy has some plans he didn't tell them about. Knockaround Guys marked the directorial debut for the screenwriting team of Brian Koppelman and David Levien.

Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide
- Andrea LeVasseur

The crime drama Knockaround Guys would have been straight-to-video, if it had not been for the box-office pull of muscleman Vin Diesel playing a supporting role. Shot almost three years before its theatrical release, this coming-of-age mobster tale tries to mimic its contemporaries, like the superior HBO series The Sopranos. However, the psychological intrigue and family drama in this movie is not that compelling. The brief appearances of Dennis Hopper and John Malkovich are interesting yet strangely unconvincing due to the mediocre dialogue of fake gangster-speak. What this movie does have is strong action scenes and very attractive leads. Basically, the best assets are the young, hunky characters looking tough in leather jackets and greased hair. Similar to what Young Guns didn't do for the Western, Knockaround Guys doesn't add anything new to the crime genre, just a more youthful face. Fans of Vin Diesel will be pleased, as his muscles are in full view during his alternating moments of clobbering and moralizing.

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Anonymous

Posted October 1, 2010

Knock The Mob

How far has the Mafia that they have two low class officers who stole their money on a regular shipment in a nowhere town, and Vin Diesel is their enforcer? Whoa! I'd say pretty since Capone and Jim Netty. This movie had no zing or zeal.

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